


Once a Diamond, Always a Diamond

by Starry_Eyed_Writer



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Diamond!Steven, Diamond!Steven Universe, Multi, Steven was born as Pink Diamond, and raised by the other three diamonds, diamond!au, i know this is cringe please be kind, its comforting for me to write sdkjghdsjg, reader lives in the human zoo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:08:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23252230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starry_Eyed_Writer/pseuds/Starry_Eyed_Writer
Summary: Steven, or Pink as many call him, is born and raised under the Great Diamond Authority. You just happen to be stuck in his human zoo, hoping to pass your days slowly and quietly. But he wants something of you...(aka, I am WEAK for pink diamond steven and wrote my own interpretation of him)
Relationships: Pink Diamond!Steven/Reader, Steven Universe/Reader
Comments: 79
Kudos: 316





	1. Welcome

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to post this once Steven Universe was over but I decided against that

The corridors are so cold. Much colder than the world you’ve been living in for a while now. If you had to give a guess as to how long, you’d say it’s been a little over a year.

You were recently brought to the human zoo along with several others, some sense of urgency with getting you away from Earth. It makes you very concerned, as you have many people you love still back on Earth. Your parents, your close friends, and sadly, your crush. They were all waiting or possibly moved on with how long you’ve been gone.

But today is different. A few days ago you noticed some humans would be secretly snuck out the back and returned with hardly any memory of leaving. But today, you were that human.

Luckily, from what you can recall, none of the humans were physically harmed when they came back. Which makes you wonder where exactly you’re going as you’re marched down the hall. You’re still in your outfit which is clearly meant for the artificial warmth your ‘home’ gives off. But this makes the pink, shiny halls very cold. From the soles of your feet to the slight breeze caused by an Amethyst’s movement makes you chill. 

“W...where are we going?” You ask.

You’re not bound, just surrounded on all sides by an Amethyst guard. Front to back and left to right, there’s a guard blocking your path. With no gag, you feel you should be able to ask what’s going to happen to you.

“Shut it!” The one in front says, turning right and making the whole group follow.

You can see the one to your left, one with limb enhancers, look around multiple times before she leans down close to your ear.

“Don’t worry, nothing bad is going to happen. He won’t let it.” She pats your shoulder just slightly before marching back in the perfect march of a soldier. 

He?

That doesn’t ease your concern much. But before you can ask much else you’re in front of a set of large doors. A waiting Pearl opens the door, with the Amethyst guard in front moving aside. The one behind you steps up as to kind of push you into the room.

You turn, confused.

“Do I—?”

“Keep walking into the room, he has requested to see you.”

“Um..who’s ‘he’?” You ask.

“Pft, are you dense?” the Amethyst laughs, “Pink Diamond.”

You turn forward, trying to see if anything will ease the fear in you, and nothing does. Before you can turn back to ask more questions the door shuts. You rush back, slamming your hands against it a few times.

“Hey! Wait! What am I doing here?” You shout.

As you start to walk away you hear a very faint, “Good luck.” come from the closed door.

You gulp, you’ve been requested. By the owner of your home, the one who probably had you sent here, and just maybe; the one that can get you out of here. The one and only; Pink Diamond.


	2. Take a Seat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dont have an exact upload schedule set in mind, so I'll just update when I please ksdjffhsj

The ground is warm now.

Despite the ground and walls being made of the same marble as the corridors outside, your feet feel warmed by the tile underneath. It’s as if the ground is radiating a heat of its own. You glance up after trying to investigate, seeing the room is giving off a pink glow from above. And you realize why. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of gems all in bubbles that seem to be glowing.

They all float around aimlessly, almost like they don't have a care in the world. But you get a feeling of dread once you look at them. 

“Beta 44?” The voice startles you out of your thoughts.

You face forward suddenly, your hair whipping you in your face due to how long it’s been since a haircut. At the top of a large staircase that stretches across the whole room, there sits Pink Diamond on a grand chair with a table in front of him.

“I requested your presence, did I not?” He asks, not even facing you.

“Um...y-yes, my...my diamond?” You stutter out, not really knowing what to call him. It’s what you hear the gems refer to him as, so you’ll use it.

“Then come up here. I can’t stand waiting.” He adjusts his gloves.

“Yes, my diamond.”

You keep your face looking down, finding it hard to stay looking forward as you walk up the large steps. As you do, you can't help but notice just how large they are as they stretch from the leftmost wall to the rightmost. It makes you wonder if large crowds come in here. But you need to focus. Once you practically climb all the steps, you stand next to the middle of the table. Your head still down, and your hands clasped together in front of you; and you just know you look like a kicked puppy.

Although you haven’t met Pink Diamond before, you’ve heard more than enough stories. He’s not the most kind or patient, especially not patient. 

“How may I be of use, my diamond?” You bow a bit, you may have been in space for a while but you still know proper manners.

“Sit.” He gestures to the seat at the other end of the table, which you barely catch being there.

You quickly scurry over, hopping into the chair, which looks similar to the one he’s sitting in but exact. The chair he’s in has several sharp cuts to it, making it appear heavily jeweled, but there’s not a single gem on it. Although it’s larger than yours, it doesn’t manage to make Pink Diamond look smaller, but instead, bigger. Once you’re seated, you take one sneaking glance towards him, only to look back at your lap once you make eye contact with diamond shaped pupils.

“Let’s get started then.” He claps twice loudly, “Pearl! Tea.” From somewhere else hidden in the room, the white Pearl you saw at the front door appears with a steaming pink cup of tea in her hands. How did she get here so fast?

She quietly sets in down in front of him, “Here you are, my diamond.” She bows deeply and steps back behind one of the dozen pillars in the room.

He takes a sip, sighing lightly, “Beta 44, I requested for your presence today to ask you a few questions.”

“Questions, my diamond?” You worry your hands in your lap.

His nose scrunches a bit in what looks like anger, but you can’t look long enough to tell.

“Let me ask this first,” he takes another sip, ignoring your response, “are you aware of who I am, exactly?” He sets his cup down on a saucer you didn’t notice before.

“Um...you are Pink Diamond, my diamond. One of the four diamond authorities.” You look up a bit more and hope it’s the right answer.

“Hm, they told me you’re new to the zoo, so I should expect as much.” He runs a hand through his pink hair as he sighs a bit heavily.

“My mother was Pink Diamond, I am her son, Steven. And although I am still a diamond I will not be addressed as such. That was for my mother, not me.” He stares you down.

Although you're making direct eye contact you can’t look away. A part of you so badly wants to look back at your hands but the other part knows you can’t look away.

“What can I call you then..my diamond?” You ask.

He slams his hand on the table, causing his cup to launch up a bit and come crashing down. It cracks, and tea spills. You jump, while he sits back again with a glare strong enough to make an army kneel.

“Enough of ‘my diamond’. You will call me by Steven and Steven only.”

“O-of course, Steven!”

His shoulders drop a bit, “Better.” 

He claps his hands twice and the same Pearl rushes back in. She quickly cleans the mess by lifting everything, including the liquid, into the gem on her forehead. She rushes off once again.

“Alright!” He clasps his hands together, giving a smile that seems strained. “So, with you being new to the zoo, you must know the most about the Earth. When was the last time you were there?” He asks.

The question is jarring and makes your head hurt from how hard you have to think, “Um...it’s hard to tell time here but if I had to guess, about a year, Steven.” You glance at your hands again.

He hums, “So not that long ago..” he cranes his neck causing it to pop loudly, “then tell me everything you know about Earth culture.”

“Earth culture?” You ask.

“Yup. So the plants, people, food, and overall way of life.” He shrugs and rolls his hands in the air to add to his point.

“Oh...um..I’d be happy to do so, Steven, but that might take a while.” You keep glancing up and down between your hands and his face.

He looks around, making emphasis of the room, “Surprisingly, I have all the time in the universe. That’s why we’re here, after all.”

“Ok…” you mumble, following his hands and fully looking at the room.

Now that you look, the room is much larger than what you were able to see before. Especially so when you finally notice that the chair and table are the only objects in the area. There’s a second story of sorts that is a good distance above the area your sitting in. Glancing behind Steven, you can see another staircase leading to that story. And to add to it, there’s several pillars holding up the ceiling above on the second story. Beyond the pillars though you can see a window, with very clean glass, as there’s galaxies ready for viewing just outside of it. But once you bring your focus to the area your in, it just leaves it barren, all but the table and chairs.

Yet when you look forward, you notice that when looking at Steven; the room that once was huge feels perfectly sized. Maybe even a bit small.

“So...um..where would you like me to start?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question of the day:  
> What's your favorite junk food?


	3. Now...

“So...um..where would you like me to start?”

You take full courage and sit a bit more comfortably, knowing that you weren’t in trouble or anything of the like really put you at ease. Not enough to ease every worry, but enough so you can sit how you normally would. 

“Let’s start with the ocean.” He seems to relax into his seat as well.

“The ocean. The ocean…” you mumble, trailing off to think exactly where to start. You put your hand to your chin in thought, “I live by the ocean actually. In a city called Beach City. Well, it’s more like a town with how small it is, but we call it a city regardless.” You giggle a bit as you trail off, fond memories of home coming back to you.

“Focus.” His tone sterns.

“O-oh, right.” You tense up.

The past year or so has been very lonely. Even with the other humans in the zoo, you miss the humans at home; on Earth. You miss your friends and family, so when you felt terrible about it or just bored, you thought back on the memories of home. This leads you to drifting off, relaxing even. Zoning out like that though clearly isn’t something you can do around Steven. He expects an answer so you sputter something out.

“Well, for one, the ocean is huge. Covers most of the planet, but at home it just seems to go on forever.”

“I know how big the ocean is, I’ve seen your planet before.” His tone is very irritated, “What I want to know is what it feels like.”

“Oh um...where I live it’s cold. It can be refreshing on a hot day but when it’s cold out, it almost makes you regret living near it. It’s pleasing when you leave town for a few days and come back to feel the mist on your face and the smell. Oh, I’ll never get over the smell. It’s just...wonderful.” You trail off, memories coming back slowly even with a large part of your mind blocking them off.

“But does it keep you there?” He asks.

“..What do you mean by that?” You fire back a question for a question.

“I mean,” his tone picks up a much sharper edge than any moment before this, “does it keep you there, on Earth.” 

“Oh..well, I guess? Although I like the ocean, there are many more things that would ‘keep me on Earth’.” you air-quote, “Things I love.” 

“What do-”

Before he can say anything else, a loud noise rings through the room, reminding you of an organ playing. Though that’s likely far from what it is. Steven practically growls from across the table, before taking a deep breath in, eyes open wide in a way that’s borderline unsettling.

“I have to leave, I am being called for.” He stands up, to which the Pearl comes out from behind one of the many pillars in the room to quickly stand by his side.

Without him even having to look, he gestures to you, “Take her back where she belongs Pearl. And no need to forget this conversation, I plan on talking to her again soon. Afterwards, come find me as I don’t know what Yellow wants of me now.” He grumbles that last part loudly, not caring if it’s meant to be kept to just the people in this room.

“Of course, my diamond.” She bows and comes up to you.

Before you can get another word in however, the Pearl is locking your arm with hers. It's something you could slip out of if you truly wanted to, but her grip is a lot stronger than her thin arms seem to give off. So you just follow along. In all honesty, to anyone passing by, it might have just looked like the two of you were friends walking side by side. But you can't help but feel very intimidated by her. Her unseeable strength alone is just one factor to scare you.

Before long the two of you pass by a group of Amethyst guards. After what just happened, you have some courage miraculously left in you, so you keep your head up as you walk by. You make eye contact with the one up front of the group, but in the corner of your eye you can see the guard furthest right, waves. You wouldn't think for a second it's aimed at you, as the two of you weren't looking at each other, so you just breeze by instead. You realize for a split second that she was the Amethyst that reassured you earlier, the one with the limb enhancers. Glancing up to the Pearl though, she's smiling. You can't help but stare at that, she seemed so timid and cold a moment ago; but now she's...soft and warm. Her eyes flick back down to look at you, to which you quickly look at the floor.

After a moment, you glance back and she's cold again.

By the time you make it to the door leading back into the zoo you turn to say something to the Pearl. Thank her maybe, although she was commanded to take you here, she definitely could've been rough with you on the walk back.

“Thank--”

“My diamond will request of you shortly.” She bows and the door slams shut.

Before you know it, your legs have subconsciously brought you back to the waterfall. The rest of the humans gather around you, asking where you went, and saying how happy they are to have you back. All you can think about is to smile and nod along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question of the day:
> 
> Any special plans to watch the end of SU?


	4. I Have a Few Questions,

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These visits are getting strange...

From what you can tell, it's been a few days.

Rough ones at that. You find yourself overthinking, so much so that the voice in your ears is having to constantly ask you if you're alright. To which you follow by frollicking around and playing with the others to make it appear that you are. It's been a little hard to sleep, but considering the tight schedule you are kept on daily, you still get what is considered the ‘normal’ amount for humans. It’s not long before you're called out again though.

You’re sitting more towards the edge of the hill area everyone plays on, rolling and running around. Everyone is smiling and just overall happy to be alive. This makes you smile a bit where you’re slumped. These people are so happy here, meanwhile, you're still in a haze about trying to get back home. Last you checked, you are one of the only people left with almost fully clear memories of Earth. If they were even born there, that is.

There’s a tap on your shoulder and you turn to see who it is only to see that ever familiar growing Amethyst guard. She smiles and gives a small wave. 

You open your mouth to speak but she quickly puts a floating finger over it, hushing you. She gestures towards the ‘back door’, as you’re now calling it, and you nod. You stumble as you stand up, glancing back to everyone mingling about below you. As you do, one person manages to make eye contact with you.

A girl you can vaguely recognize.

It takes a second for you to realize she probably shouldn't be noticing you, let alone staring right at you. So you quickly follow in the direction you should be moving in. What you don't see is that girl’s face fall as you go.

You see the Amethyst guard holding the door open for you. You nod and walk through, mumbling a small ‘thank you’ as you pass her. She follows behind you and quickly shuts the large magenta doors. She sighs and walks down the corridor, to which you quickly run to keep by her side.

“It’s nice to see you again.” She mumbles, voice low in volume.

“You too.” You try to mimic her tone.

She halts walking for a second, before moving again without missing a beat. You don't even have to stop to match her pace as she quickly fixes her mistake. “Are you alright?” You ask.

“You remember me?” Her voice picks up in pitch just a bit and she clears her throat after. 

“Of course.” You give a soft smile her way, she returns it with a bright one and eyes shining just a bit.

There’s a moment of silence between you, so you fill it; “Where are the other guards?” you ask.

“My diamond didnt think you needed more than one. He said you were ‘easy to handle’ and ‘listened well’..whatever that means.” She shrugs and laughs a little.

Should...should you be insulted or flattered? You glance around as you try to decide that and she seems to notice.

“Trust me dude, that’s a good thing. He  _ hates  _ something that won't submit to him. In fact,” she glances around as you turn left, “I think he might even  _ likeee  _ youu.” She lightly waves her floating finger in your direction, making you giggle as it gets close to your face.

“What does that mean?” You ask.

But before she can answer, you made it to your destination. Another set of doors, the familiar ones that are much larger than at second home. There’s shouting behind it this time.  _ Loud  _ shouting. Loud enough you swear you can feel the ground rumble under your feet; but you're not positive about that due to them being numb from the cold. You gulp, finding it hard not to be intimidated despite what the Amethyst told you. Turning to look back at her, she opens the door and gestures coldly for you to move inside. 

So you do, and the doors blow a brush of wind past you as they quickly shut. You’re close enough to the door you hear a mumble from the other side, but the yelling bouncing off the walls keeps you from hearing it clearly.

You face the slightly familiar looking room, seeing the grand size of it from the front now that you're not as confused as the last you were here. At the top of the second story, there’s a hologram of who you assume is the ‘Yellow’ Steven mumbled about due to the yellow hue radiating off of it. And with how she’s arguing with Steven right now makes you think she’s Yellow Diamond of all gems, purely because she would have the power to do so. The two are trying their best to shout over each other about something, but suddenly she stops.

She looks past Steven, at you. You freeze.

“A pet, really? You choose to waste your time with some--!” 

Before she can say anything else Steven cuts her off, “I’m done talking, don’t call me back.” and with a wave of his hand, ends the call before another word comes out of her mouth.

He sighs loudly, “Pearl, bring her to me.”

“Of course, my diamond.” rings out from near you.

You look over, and the Pearl is walking over from the bottom of the far left of the first staircase. She locks your arm with hers once again, walking you both to the front of said staircase. Looking at the stairs in detail, they seem large. Not like the kind where each step involves walking a bit to reach the next. But instead, large enough that you'd have to lunge to go from one to the next; seemingly impossible for a human like you. You’re about to turn to voice how you wont be able to make it up the stairs.

But suddenly you’re being lifted up into the air, high above the impossible stairs. You look around while time seems to slow, noticing the Pearl had  _ jumped _ . She lands at the top, taking most of the impact into her body, while holding yours so it takes none of it.

She lets go of you while you stand stunned, and bows elegantly, hands gesturing to Steven. You nod to put yourself back in the moment. But you can help but take note of the beautiful view to your left as you walk. It seems like the entire cosmos is there for your viewing as hundreds of thousands of stars dot the pitch black sky. You could only dream of getting a view like this back on Earth, the thought makes you smile.

Remembering exactly where you are, you face forward again and stop dead in your tracks. Steven is staring dead at you, a pink glow spread over his cheeks and his eyes seem to glow with them. The sight immediately wants to make you apologize for something, regardless of if you did it or not. 

“What’s so _ funny? _ ” he snarls.

“U-um..” you sputter, “n-nothing my D--Steven!” you got so nervous that you almost forgot exactly what to call him.

“Then why are you smiling?” his tone seems to grow worse.

“I-it’s just um…” you gesture beside you, “the-the view, my Steven. I...I've never seen anything like it a-and well...it made me happy, is all.” You look down, making your nerves settle just a bit.

You don’t see it but his face goes from bitter to slight surprise. He looks over to his right, taking in what you mean. He sighs, running his hands through his hair.

“I suppose it is.” he faces back to the hologram monitor in front of him.

You slowly will yourself to move forward. Standing next to his side, you keep a good few feet distance as you don’t know how his personal bubble goes. “What can I do for you, my Steven?” you ask, bowing a bit, hoping he won't notice how you’re rolling with your mistake.

He glances at you from the side, “Here, let me show you something.” he gestures for you to come closer.

So you do, keeping about a foot distance still. He presses something on the screen and suddenly, the room goes dark as lights are shown all around you. Looking around, you notice the lights are actually little holographic planets. You reach out and poke one that's close to your head. Upon a closer look you notice, it’s Jupiter.

You gasp, snapping your eyes around until...there! You practically skip over to the small hologram that you recognize as Earth. You nearly squeal with excitement, but manage to keep it in.

“How beautiful!” you gasp, “if only it were bigger..” you mumble mainly to yourself.

Steven steps beside you, “Here,” he gestures to the air, hands spreading apart as if to zoom in. And it does, making the planet 10 times the size it just was. There’s no precise details, but it’s close enough that you can see hurricanes, mountain lines, and more. You let out a faint “woah..” as you stare.

Steven clears his throat, “Show me, Beach City.” he says aloud. You thought for a second he was talking to you until you saw the hologram zoom in even further. And there it is.

Home.

You could practically cry. You can see everyone moving about, going along their day like they didn’t have a care in the world. It almost feels wrong watching them, but you’re desperate for any touch of home, you’ll take what you can get. You can see Onion hopping over fences, Mr. Smiley stressing over the amount of customers at the arcade, and even Sadie laughing and giggling with someone you haven't seen before. That’s new. And most importantly, there he is, your crush. He’s taking a walk on the beach alone, reminding you of the times the two of you did that together. Oh, don’t cry now, you can’t cry in front of Steven.

Tears well in your eyes and you wipe them away quickly, not wanting to cry just yet. That can wait until you’re back in the zoo when everyone else is asleep.

“Is this the place you were talking about?” Steven’s voice brings you coldly back to where you were.

“Um...yes. Yes, it is.” you look fondly over everyone.

“Show me what you like most.” he says.

“Oh..o-of course, my Steven.” you step into the hologram, the town of beach city surrounding your waist.

You hum as you glance around. “Oh! There's a beautiful cliffside here,” you point to the cliff with a lighthouse on top; “It has a beautiful view from the top. Someone turned the old lighthouse to a hangout spot so I spent a lot of time there.”

You turn, “And the arcade! I have so many prizes that I got when I was little.” turning again, something important comes into eye, “..And my house.” 

From what is visible, it doesn’t look like there’s anyone home. No lights are on, no cars in the driveway, and nobody is sitting on the porch. But nothing has changed to the house, and it’s bittersweet. Knowing that your family is still there, but you can't help but feel like they've moved on. It makes sense, you've been gone for a while.

But the sharp tugging in your chest seems to get to you, as you sniffle. You quickly stop any tears and snot coming out as you hear Steven clear his throat. 

“All of Beach City is great, so I guess…” you turn to face him, “all of it is my favorite.” you glance off to the side, finding it hard to keep eye contact.

“I see..” he steps closer.

You don't move, and he steps closer into your bubble than what most people would find acceptable. You hold your breath, fear and optimism run through you. You stand still, finding it hard to move without doing something that will upset him. He glances to your side, where the hologram of the cliff is.

He squints, “I wonder what that view is like.”

“What--?” you’re about to ask more but he gestures to Pearl.

“Pearl, take her back, I want to be alone for a while as well, so find something to do after.” he waves his hand and turns back around to the monitor.

“Wait, but I-!” you’re about to reach out to ask all the questions buzzing loudly in your head. Like why did he show you this? Why the odd questions? What does he want to know? What does he want from you?

But instead he snaps back to you. One look and you go quiet. You take a step back, not daring to look at him, looking instead at where the hologram of your house is. The Pearl looks between you and Steven, eyes wide and enough worry and fear in them to make you feel the same. The hologram disappears, leaving the area around you look and feel empty. 

“ _ Pearl.. _ ” his voice sounds like it’s straining.

She quickly rushes out from the corner she was standing in, grabbing you with a quick bow and making her way down the large steps once again. She walks fast, in a huge rush, and you get why despite her being told to do anything after getting rid of you. And before you know it, you’re back in the lush green that is your second home.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question of the day:  
> Would you guys like me to open writing commissions?


	5. Who's That?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are growing ever familiar

You’re back at your second home, and you think a few hours has passed since you were brought back. Everyone is supposed to be asleep now, but you’re not.

After the voice in your ears had pestered you to fall asleep with the others multiple times, you asked to be left alone; surprisingly you were. Now, you’re close to the waterfalls, just lightly dipping your feet in the warm water. Cool during the day, warm at night, from what you've noticed.

You toy with the loincloth on your front. Dripping the end of it in the water, pulling and wringing it out, spin it around a few times to dry it; repeat. Now that you think about it, these outfits aren't too bad. At first, you hated it. Hated being so exposed and how a slight breeze could completely uncover your legs to show the underwear underneath. But now you see why it’s so airy. It’s because the weather here is always sunny and warm, with the gentlest of breezes once every so often. But still, what you wouldn’t give to have a change of clothes. Maybe a long summer dress, or some loose capri’s sound nice. That’s something else you left at home.

You sigh, slumping. You sit on your knees, putting your face as close as possible to the surface of the water. It has no smell, nothing like the salt water that surrounds your home; and it’s completely still, disappointing compared to the ever crashing waves of the ocean. 

“Hey!” a face pops into the surface of the water next to you, and voice next to your ear.

“Ah!” you jump, shooting straight up. But not before you lose your grip on the ledge of the body of water.

You fall in, finding being fully encased in a warm liquid very uncomfortable. But before you can rise to break the surface, you feel the temperature cools a bit. At least it feels better on your body to be in what you consider normal water temperature, but that still doesn't help your problem.

You swim up, flinging your hair back so it doesn't stick to your face. You spit and cough out what liquid had managed to creep into your lungs, finally taking the time to analyze who just scared the crap out of you. Glancing up, it’s the girl from before. Seeing her again made you recognize her a bit more.

“Oh my gosh! I’m very sorry, dear! Grab my hand, I'll help you up.” she reaches both hands out to which you happily grab.

She pulls you out of the water, and you notice the difference in height between you two. She towers over you, and you think she’s about six feet, maybe even taller. Her appearance reminds you of something people would mention back home, but you cant remember it clearly...

“I’m so sorry for scaring you, dear! I just couldn’t help but notice someone was up and wanted to say hello.” she rubs at the back of her neck. You just stand there still in awe at the near giant in front of you.

“Ah, here,” she reaches for the loincloth in front of her and rips about half of it off, “can't have you shivering.” she mumbles and wipes the water from your eyes and nose.

You can't help but stare as she works, taking full note of her appearance. Her skin is a light tan, with freckles just about everywhere on her arms and chest; but distinctly one dark under her right eye and on the left corner of her lip. Her dark brown hair is thick and looks curly, but as she gets closer you notice it’s just heavy waves. Another thing that stands out about her hair is how one side is very short. Although it looks overall to be shoulder length, the left side stops right below her ear, while the right is to her shoulder. But what captures your attention the most is her eyes. A deep green with a section of deep blue in her right eye. Both colors are stunning on their own, but mix them together and you get one of the most beautiful combinations you’ll probably ever see. And it all looks so familiar.

“You ok?” her smile is a bit too smug for your liking.

“O-oh um yeah..” you trail off. “Hey um...weird question..do I know you?” you don't bother to look at her as you feel your awkwardness radiating back.

“Hm..I guess that’s a subjective question.” She grabs your chin and tilts her head up a bit, to wipe the final areas she couldn't reach before.

“Because if you mean you recognize me, then that’s different from knowing me. I do recognize you, but I don't know you, dear.” She finishes.

“..I guess you’re right.” you take a quick glance at her and she lets go.

“There! Now if--”

“Oh goodness! How did you get all wet?” the voice in your ear coos, “Please make your way over to the treeline and I’ll get you dried off. Then you can head to bed!” it reminds you once again.

You nervously chuckle, “Sounds great, thank you.”

“I’m more than happy to help! Your health, safety, and happiness is my top priority.” it says as you follow the directions you were given.

You sit down, the familiar woman following your lead. As you sit, you feel a warm breeze come from behind you, similar to a blowdryer if you had to explain it. You sigh, relaxing a bit more as the chill you started to build up was disappearing.

“You know though,” she voices, you look over to her and see that she’s enjoying the warmth just as much as you are, “I might recognize you, but I’d like to know you.” she leans over and nudges you.

“Oh!” you giggle a bit once the realization hits you. “Ok then..let’s start with our names?” you gesture to her.

“Of course, I’m Beta 40.” she reaches her hand out for you to shake.

You do, “I’m Beta 44..wait-” you let go of her, “we were part of the same shipment here?” you ask.

“Sounds like, and if I can remember it right, that’s how I recognize you.” she smiles sweetly, as if she knew all this already.

You nod, “So..is there anything you’d like to know about me?” you ask.

She chuckles a bit, “Yes, actually. I wanted to ask you where you might of went today. I saw you head to the exit but it closed before I could get through it.” She lays down on the soft grass beneath you two, closing her eyes.

Oh boy, she unknowingly hit the point. You curse the part of you that had to stare earlier, you should have just turned around, maybe then you wouldn’t be asked this. Should you even tell her? You can’t imagine that Steven is listening to your exact conversation right now but you wouldn’t be surprised if he could. And the thought itself makes you doubt speaking. It’s clear that the meetings you two have are meant to be private...so should you speak of it to someone you just met?

“That’s...I don’t think I can say.” you look the other way, hoping she won't pry further.

“That’s alright.” she shrugs.

“How about a question for you?” you ask.

“Ask away, dear.” she smirks with a subtle softness.

“Do you remember your home? Like...Earth, not here.” you gesture to the ceiling where you know the large amount of space back to Earth sits.

“I do, not clearly, but I try to remember more each day when I get bored.” her eyes follow where your hand is gesturing, and she focuses on one particular spot you can't really see.

You nod, “Me too.”

There’s a nice silence that lingers between you two. You turn the opposite direction, facing your front towards the warm breeze now that your back is dried off. You think back to the day you had earlier, and the many days before that. And more specifically, thoughts of home. Beta 40 reminds you of home, down to her eyes that shine like a certain cliffside that matches the green and blue of her. The cool water you just felt reminded you of home, even the warm breeze you’re currently feeling. It seems the more you think about it, the more everything reminds you of the place you so desperately want to go back to. 

You feel tears well, to which you quickly wipe away.

“There! Should be all better now! Sleep time is calling your name Beta 40, 44.” the voice in your ears says.

“Yes ma’am.” Beta 40 says and stretches, standing up to help you up as well. You can't help but notice the large scars along her arm as she does. That's something you’ll have to ask about.

The two of you lay next to each other this time among everyone else, and she scoots closer to you to whisper, “If you get cold again, just cuddle up to me and I’ll keep you warm.”

You snort, trying not to wake everyone else up. “Goodnight 40.” you say as you face away from her.

“Goodnight dear.” She says quietly.

You fall asleep, with no dreams that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question of the day:  
> Would you guys like to see illustrations sprinkled in with a chapter here and there?


	6. What's Your Purpose?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://linktr.ee/starryheadache

You wake up late the next morning, enjoying sleeping in with a finally dreamless sleep. But when you do, Beta 40 takes comfort in staying by your side. She still hangs around everyone else she knows in here, but takes more time to be around you. During activity time today, she picks flowers and weaves them into your hair, braiding it as she goes. Making each daisy and aster stay in place in your now smoothed out hair.

Although you brush your fingers through your hair every day, it’s nice to have someone else do it. 

Beta 40 doesn’t talk much, just nice, passing conversations. Something about the weather today, something silly the others are doing, or asking about small interests of yours. But keeping the deeper secrets at bay for now, just enjoying the tranquillity. 

“Bigger stories can wait for later.” she said when you mentioned what happened yesterday. Instead, as she picks another aster, and places it behind your ear.

You don’t get called out that day, which you’re thankful for internally. Finding the day being quiet and mellow a nice settle from the chaos you’ve been experiencing recently. 

But at the same time, you can’t help but feel worried about it.

Steven seemed very upset, especially at you. It seems that no matter what you’ll do, it’ll be wrong. It makes you think far too much, about how much longer you’ll be here, how much longer Steven will want your attention, and once again; home. 

It’s now quiet time before everyone goes to bed, so you and Beta 40 are laying side by side; watching the fake sky above. There’s light chatter, as this is when everyone gets out their last giggles, few lingering thoughts, or quieting their younger children down. But you and 40 are just sitting in silence. Again, not something you mind much, but you feel like you need to say something.

“Penny for your thoughts?” 40 chimes.

“I don’t think so...why? Do you have an actual penny?” you nudge her lightly with your elbow.

She snorts, “Oh I wish. Maybe then, I could know what’s going on inside that noisy head of yours.” she reaches over, delicately moving your large braid over your shoulder to lay across your chest.

You smile, sitting up on your elbows and facing her. 

“I’ll give you one for free. Why do I recognize you?” You ask.

Her entire face and aura gave you this feeling of familiarity. It makes it feel so comfortable around her, like she’s a close friend you’ve known since you were a baby. From what you know, it’s because of the day you were taken off Earth; but those days are getting hazy. It seems your memory is holding on to actually import stuff, so more memories of the smells or sights, or the voices of your loved ones just stick longer. You’re glad though, that it’s the case, as you would happily recall fond memories over you being kidnapped any day.

But it bugs you, as you can't remember this kind woman in front of you.

“You don’t remember?” she asks, turning to look back at you.

You shake your head, “I’m sorry, the first few weeks I was here are hazy.”

She laughs a bit, keeping her voice down; “Don’t apologize for something like that. I understand, they’re getting dim for me, too. But I can still remember the day well, because you were there, dear.”

You flush a little, she’s far too flattering to you. She reaches over, patting the patch of grass you're laying on, urging you to scoot closer. So you do, still keeping a small, comfortable, distance between you both.

“Let me tell you a story,” she sits up, laying on her side and holding her head up; “hopefully I can quiet those thoughts so you can actually sleep tonight.”

You smile, making eye contact with her. “What if I actually fall asleep?” you ask.

“Then I’ll tell you again tomorrow.” she says, making you laugh under your breath.

You close your eyes, a smile still lingering on your face. Shuffling a bit, both of you fully relax as she starts speaking.

“One day, I was picked up by a weird craft on my way home. I tried to remember every detail about the things going on around me. Like how the ship was a lot larger on the inside than on the outside, or how many gems were on the ship. But one thing I tried to remember the most, is all the humans that were on the ship with me. As I was put in a cell, I saw a girl in the one right across from mine. She was very funny at first as she demanded to let off, asking where she was, and overall bugging any guards that walked by.” she takes a pause, giggling a bit. 

“But soon, she got sad. Her spirit died out. She stopped fighting back, stopped demanding to go home. I think she just became ok with what happened, accepting her new life. Soon, I met others, and had a hard time keeping up…” her voice gets lighter.

That and the feeling of her fingers running through your hair let you finally drift off. 

~~

The next morning, though, you do get called in. 

The table is back, except it’s on the second story now. Steven is already sitting there, looking off to the stars just within reach. Just seeing him gives you a feeling of unease. What you wouldn’t give to be back with 40 right now, she would at least be able to calm you down. You take a deep breath, you’ll be fine.

You get lifted up the stairs by the Pearl once again, but the weightlessness from the last time you experienced it is gone; only dread. You stand next to him, waiting to be told what to do. He’s staring straight at the seat you would normally sit at, hands weaved together in front of his mouth. He looks lost in thought. But that proves to be false as he quickly notices your standing there, waiting. He hardly turns his head to look at you, but still makes eye contact. Despite his eyes being so cold and demanding, you don’t think you’ll get over how fascinating it is to see diamond shaped pupils on a person.

“Don't just stand there, sit.” he commands, facing your seat once again.

You quickly do as he says, finding the urge to sit up right and keep your hands in your lap, something hard to ignore. You don’t make eye contact though, that’s a distant thought you don’t think you can stomach.

Steven takes a deep breath in, keeping his spine straight as he sits back in his seat. His strained smile he always wears is back, the deep in thought look quickly becoming something you miss. 

“I have made a decision.” he claps his hand and the Pearl comes out from around the corner, handing Steven a cup of tea. Almost exactly like when you first came here.

“I will be seeing you daily. My Pearl will come to the zoo to bring you to me each morning at whatever time I desire, but it will always be morning.”

The statement makes your eyes go wide. Every morning? What could he need from you to have to see you every morning? That’s no more lazy mornings, no more breakfast with everyone, and no more waking up peacefully. Steven seems to notice your thoughts as he perks up again.

“But this means you will need a title as I will not be here waiting for you every morning. So you will be titled as my pet from here on out.” he claps again, but you don't notice it as a new wave of information hits you hard.

‘ _ Pet _ ’ echoes in particular. You’ve heard it before, from Yellow Diamond, right? She called you that when she saw you by accident while talking to Steven. What does that mean exactly? Does being a pet mean you get a stupid little doggy bed, toys, and other stuff meant for animals? You wouldn’t be surprised, but you sure hope not. Something warm around your neck snaps you out of your thoughts though.

You flinch, “This is a sign to anyone that you’re mine.” Stevens' statement peaks through your thoughts.

You reach up but your hand is moved away by a very cold one. Glancing, the Pearl is standing behind you, holding a mirror in your reach. So you grab it, looking at what’s around your neck. Before you notice the thing around your neck you notice your face first. Although the water in the zoo is clearer than any you’ve ever seen, it’s still not an exact reflection when you try to use it as a mirror. So having an actual one in front of you to show your face in detail is somewhat shocking.

Your hair is still braided with flowers from yesterday, but it’s a lot dryer and longer than you remember it being. Your face is clean but looks a bit rough from scars and a bit of dryness in some spots. But your eyes look very heavy, tired even. It all makes sense though, despite the zoo doing everything possible to make you content and happy, it doesn’t exactly allow the full freedom you crave. And that is soul-wrenching.

You’re not unpleased, just surprised with how you look. Looking so familiar but not quite how you remember it, making a sense of unease. It’s hard to get over actually seeing yourself in a year plus some, but you put those thoughts on the back burner to see the object around your neck.

Tilting the mirror down a bit, there’s a choker around your neck. You have to admit, it’s very beautiful. 

It’s a solid magenta pink line of fabric, similar to one of the many pinks on Steven’s outfit. There’s small gold chains that connect from the sides to the front, where the centerpiece sits. Said centerpiece is a simple diamond shaped charm at the front, the only detail being the chains that connect to the base it dangles off of. It’s simple, yet elegant. But you’re caught off guard by it’s beauty to remember its purpose.

“Your..pet?” You ask, not taking your eyes off of it.

“Yes, pet. You will be only referred to as such from now on, and that,” he gestures to your neck, “will make your status clear.” 

Finally taking your eyes away from the mirror you look at Steven, holding his eyes with your own. If you weren't so focused on his body language all the time you probably would've missed how he froze when you made eye contact. You’re about to ask something else but he cuts it off.

“You-” he clears his throat, something that stuns you into silence, “you will not be here tomorrow, instead my Pearl will take you to get you cleaned up.”

“Pearl.” he claps.

The mirror is taken out of your hand and you almost grasp out for it again. She’s quickly standing by his side, intently listening with closed eyes.

“Give her a proper bath, a haircut wouldn’t be bad for her and she can decide the length, and…” he trails off, staring you up and down from what is visible, making you suddenly very conscious; “give her a new outfit. I hope you work with the pebbles to do so, knowing my expectations.”

“Of course, my Diamond.” She bows elegantly.

“Good. If I can think of anything else I will tell you. For now, take her back to the zoo, we’re done here.” He stands up, moving towards the large screen you saw him talk to Pink Diamond on.

She guides you up and out of your seat, softly this time. You open your mouth to speak and you can see her glance at you because of it, but you don’t care.

“Thank you, Steven.” your voice is a bit stunned, but still gets out clear. 

Despite how messed up this ‘gift’ sounds, it’s still a gift. Something you haven't truly been given in a while. You feel a sense of wanting to thank him as a result, so you do, as you really do appreciate that he’s thinking of you. And maybe, this title can get you a few questions answered about this crazy world around you.

He freezes, for just a second, then continues what he was doing. “Get her out of here, Pearl.”

“Yes, my Diamond.” she says loudly, her footsteps suddenly becoming louder as she walks out.

And with that you're back at the zoo again.

As soon as you’re back though, 40 is waiting by the backdoor, brighting the second she sees you. She rushes up and eyes you up and down, “I was looking everywhere for you, dear! I thought you escaped.” her hands hesitate between reaching out to check you for any harm and just eyeing you.

“No, I just had something to do.” you reach up to grab one of her hands. It’s incredibly large compared to yours, but you end up playing with her fingers. Hoping that will calm the itch she’s obviously fighting with touching you.

She giggles a bit, “Of course, the vague leaving. Almost forgot about that.” her tone is playful as she watches you fold her fingers back and forth.

“Sorry, I don’t think I can talk about it.” you give one final reassuring squeeze to her hand with your own before dropping it.

“Don't apologize for that, dear. I just shouldn’t worry so much.” she laughs a bit again, but pauses once she eyes your neck, “Oh? What’s this?”

She points to the choker around your neck. You look down, despite not being able to see it at all. The diamond charm hanging from it is slightly poking your collarbone so you look up from your failed attempt to see it. Reaching up, you grab it, rubbing your finger over the cool metal; it’s almost nice in some odd sense. 

“A gift? I’m still a little confused about it actually.” you mumble.

Beta 40 lightly brushes your hand to touch the charm as well, moving it around as she inspects it.

“A gift? Someone has a stranger growing very soft on them.” she nudges your shoulder a bit, finished playing with your choker.

You laugh, “What does that mean?” and shove her arm lightly back.

“It means, someone is growing to appreciate you very much.”

You both start walking back to the waterfall, it’s reaching bathtime after all. You're about to jump in but you have to take off your choker first. You try to reach and unclasp it, but after feeling around, there's no clasp. So you try tugging, instead that just nearly chokes you. 

"Aren't you coming in, dear?" Beta 40 shouts from the peak of the waterfall.

You force yourself to not look terrified, "U-um, y-yeah! Just a minute!" you give a thumbs up.

You don't think you're going to swim, your stomach is suddenly very upset. Your mind starts racing about why wont the choker come off, what being a pet actually means, and...how maybe Steven is ‘growing soft’ on you. 

"...Yeah, right." you mumble, reaching a shaking hand to hold the diamond charm you've grown to play with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question of the day:  
> Interested in getting updates about chapter releases? Have questions? Want to request or commission a work from me? Please visit any of my other social media accounts !  
> I'm always excited to meet and talk to my readers, so don't be afraid to message me about the novel or even about anything else !! I'd love to hear from you all <3 (I'm also active on any account linked, so it comes down to which you use most)  
> https://linktr.ee/starryheadache


	7. And What's Next?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's spa day, hurray !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello darlings !!  
> Im very sorry for not being here for a bit, but Im graduating soon, and that's taking a lot more of my time than I expected. I will be posting consistently in about 2-3 weeks, so keep your eyes out for that ! Otherwise, I won't be on AO3 for a bit. But if you have any questions/comments/concerns, I'm still semi-active on discord and instagram. Open the link in the final notes to check those out <3

The next day, you’re shaken awake. The first thing you notice is it’s still a bit dark in the ‘zoo’, as you are now calling it. The second thing you notice is the pearl you always see is shaking you awake. You grumble about as you sit up, trying to calm a headache you can feel building from being woken up against your strict schedule.

“What are you-?” before you can finish your sentence though, you’re ushered to stand up.

Once you do, you take a look at the pearls face, she looks very serious; and yet calm. You can't help but move your eyes towards her gem on her forehead glinting beautifully against the artificial light. She truly seems gentle in this moment, maybe it’s something you haven't noticed before, but it’s sweet.

You look down and see she’s holding a finger up to her lips. So you stay silent.

She ushers you out of the ‘zoo’ silently, sure to avoid any humans on her way out. You’re more awake than before but a part of you is still confused as to what you’re doing up so early.

“Where are we going?” you ask, squinting your eyes as the light in the halls shines in your eyes.

“My Diamond has requested you visit the spa today.” she responds, turning a corner and you follow.

That’s right. You get a makeover done today. It would sound more like fun if you still weren’t half awake and now hungry. You feel a bit pathetic that your body is entirely thrown off all because you woke up just a little bit earlier. Oh, what you wouldn’t give to have your own schedule in life again.

It’s right when the sleepy film over your eyes disappears that you both reach a grand set of doors. Not as large as the doors that lead to the Pink room Steven spends his time in, but still large enough. The room itself is even bigger on the inside, and a range of colors. A nice turquoise blue hits you first, then some soft lemon yellows, and ivory whites. And as a finishing touch, soft pinks adorn the walls. It’s like all the light that comes in reflects off them to give them just a beautiful shine.

You’ve never seen anything like it, not even back home. 

But what hits you next is how empty it is. It’s big enough to be a salon that can fit a hundred people at a time. And yet, it’s barren. But there’s still multiple stations, as if there should be other people there. The Pearl walks off to one of the stations with a mirror vanity while you continue to look around.

Another thing you take note of is that it’s warm in here. The main reason being that your feet became very cold out in the halls, but you were too busy trying to stay aware of where you were going, you didn’t notice. But now, the ground is warming up your feet. And the air is a very comfortable temperature with little to no draft. It all reminds you very much of Stevens Pink room.

“Please take a seat when you are ready.” the Pearl chimes in.

You turn and see her gesturing to a stool in front of the vanity. You make a small ‘oh’ and quickly scurry over to sit down. Once you do, your reflection immediately gets your attention. It’s like before, not much has changed. You look tired, and a bit dirty. The baths they give in the stream definitely clean you up, but it’s very basic. Before you had the luxury of having multiple soaps that would clean your hair to make it soft and shiny, or to clean your skin and make it bright. But now you have one that’s already mixed in with the water, so it doesn’t offer much.

You miss that spoiled aspect of your life. When you get it back, you’ll be sure to never be ungrateful about it again.

But now, looking in the mirror, you look the same. But just more...worn out. Your hair is frizzy, skin a little dry and eyes sunken in a little. Maybe your makeover today can help with all that, even just a little.

“We are going to start with trimming your hair. Please select a style and length when you think of one.” the Pearl says as she puts a cloth over your body, securing it around your neck.

“Oh...uh..wait, who’s going to cut my hair?” you ask, as there’s nobody else around.

“Me, of course. Now, please select a style and length when you think of one.” she laughs a bit, then repeats herself like a robot.

The change in tone is jarring, but you try to focus as much as possible on thinking of a style. Maybe just a trim would be nice, but then again, your hair has gotten very long over the time you’ve been here. So would cutting off most of it be a good thing? 

“Could you just cut off half, please?” you ask.

Your hair currently reaches your lower back, so cutting off half would be a nice relief. And if it doesn’t come out nice then you can at least have enough to tie it up cleanly. You just hope The Pearl knows how to use a pair of scissors

“Of course.” she bows and grabs a pair of scissors off the vanity.

She starts trimming away lightly, before tying two ponytails in your hair with ribbons you didn’t see her grab. She follows that by cutting off said ponytails. It’s such a quick action that your hair immediately falls back to how it was, but now it reaches your upper back. You watch it all happen, and as you stare at your now much shorter hair, you can’t help but think back to being on Earth. It looks exactly the same as when you were forced away from your home and stuck  _ here _ .

Tears start welling, and a few fall out.

“Was that not the amount you wanted?” the Pearl asks, and there’s a hint of worry in her voice.

You make eye contact with her through the mirror, or at least you try your best, considering your vision is blurry.

“O-oh, no, it’s perfect.” you sniffle, “It’s exactly the way I had it before, thank you.” you look away, embarrassed that you started crying over a haircut of all things, but you can't help it.

“I see..” she mumbles, and continues trimming away.

As she trims the edge of your hair, you continue to look at her through the mirror. She's still holding the same cold emotionless expression you’re used to seeing on her. But you know there’s more there. There’s a smile and humor, and most likely more.

“So...um..why did Steven want me to get a makeover?” you nervously ask.

“M..makeover?” she asks, tone genuinely confused.

Her eyes meet yours in the mirror, and her face scrunches in misunderstanding. You smile a bit at this.

“Oh, you’ve never heard that? How do I describe it..” you mumble, looking around the room to get a solid idea of how to get your point across, “it’s like, changing a lot of things about your appearance. So...um..like right now! I’m changing my hair, my clothes, and maybe more. That’s a makeover.” you say the last sentence a matter of factly.

“I see…” she mumbles.

She fluffs up your hair and trims it a bit more, “My diamond wants his pet to look proper for any events in the future.”

Oh. Is that another insult or something good?

“Oh.” is your only response.

She quietly stops cutting, and sets the scissors down back where she picked them up from. Without a word, she gently ushers you out of your seat and towards what looks like a sink you would see in a salon. You sit down, and she lowers your head to fit in the curve in the sink. You don't realize it until you’re relaxed in your seat but the sink and the chair are a lot bigger than you. It’s not that you’re small, it's just a bit too large. Enough so, you actually can’t fully relax in the seat or else your head won't be set properly in the sink. So you sit a bit awkwardly, having your hands support some of your weight by pushing yourself up.

“He wants only the best for you.” she mumbles as she turns around for just a moment.

“What?” you ask, lifting your head out of place.

She lightly presses your head back down, “Stay still please, I will now clean your hair using these products.” she gestures to the three bottles she’s holding in one hand.

You can't see them well from the angle you're at, but from what you got a peek of, they look very nice. Expensive even. Wait...do gems use currency? You feel like you’ll find out soon enough. So you just sigh and mumble an ‘ok’, tilting your head so your hair all rests in the sink. It is  _ very  _ nice to have a scalp massage if you’re going to be honest with yourself. And when she starts applying the product she grabbed, the smell floats your way and you get a bit giddy.

You close your eyes and just enjoy the moment of being pampered. You feel a final rinse and hear footsteps walking away. You sit up, smiley and happy despite the pain in most of your arms lingering away.

“If you step in here, you can dry your hair.” she bows in front of a large chamber of sorts.

It’s clear but there's an obvious door in it, and from what you can see there vents lining the walls inside of it. You look at her, hoping to see something. And you do, she makes eye contact with you and instantly looks surprised.

“Is something wrong?” you ask.

“O-oh! No, pardon me. It’s just...it’s been a while since I’ve seen a genuine smile.” she doesn't look at you, and just gestures to the chamber again.

You smile again, feeling like that was a compliment. But you just do as she asks and step into the clear chamber. Once you do, warm air blows on you from almost every angle. Like several blow dryers hitting you all at once. It’s not like a heavy wind though, but it’s strong enough to lift up your loincloth so you hold it in place to keep your privacy. You’re able to look down and see the pose you’re holding you start laughing a little.

Glancing up despite the wind hitting your face, you see the Pearl look a bit confused. So you laugh again and shout, “I look just like Marilyn Monroe!” the purposely recreate the original pose as best as you can remember, just to be silly.

You peek at her again and see her smiling again, but it’s very soft, very fond. It makes you stop and stare for a moment. Realizing you were staring, she snapped out of whatever she was thinking and opened the door for you to step out. So you do, and all the air stops. You didn’t even notice your hair was only halfway dry.

“Follow me.” she mumbles, and you do.

She turns down a corridor in the salon, and you quickly follow. At the end of the corridor, there's a tailors mirror on an elevated platform. She gestures for you to stand on it, and you do. Once you do, the mirror glows. 

“ _ Hello! How may I be of assistance to you today? _ ” a voice comes from the glass.

“Oh-um..” you’re about to speak but the Pearl chimes in.

She clears her throat, “Pink Diamond would like a new outfit for his pet.” she says.

The mirror scans your reflection, and your choker glows a little. It blinks twice, then stops. You look at the Pearl, very confused as to why your choker is blinking. But she just nods and gestures to the mirror. 

“ _ Understood. Welcome, Beta 44, I hope I can fulfill your needs today. _ ” the mirror speaks.

The mirror then shows you several icons that allow you to see different outfits on yourself. You gasp in awe. There’s something like this on Earth but nowhere  _ near _ this intelligent, so you can't help but want to test every setting.

“ _ Please select what style you desire the most. _ ” the mirror says, making a new outfit appear on your reflection.

The outfit is a white, long sleeve, unitard that stops at the joint where your legs and torso meet. At your waist, there’s a large long piece of sheer fabric that reaches your ankles, at your feet are covered with a slip on flats. But on the front of the unitard, there’s a large pink diamond that stops at your belly button. And finally your hair is put up in an elegant bun, with several flowers and beads dotting as decoration. 

“This is beautiful, but is there anything else?” you ask.

“ _ Of course! _ ” the voice chimes.

And you end up scrolling through several outfits. You can see the Pearl look confused and a bit irritated behind you, so you nervously look away. In all honesty, you don’t like how you suddenly feel like a piece of property. Regardless of what Steven’s intentions are, having a large pink diamond plastered somewhere on your clothes makes you feel...wrong. It makes your stomach turn, and you doubt you’ll be able to ignore it.

But finally, one stands out.

It’s another white unitard that stops at the joints of your upper legs again, but stops directly at your shoulders as well. Funnily enough, the lack of sleeves would make you think of a v-neck, but it’s a turtleneck. Another piece of sheer fabric flares from your waist, but this time, it’s layered. The one underneath is much longer and reaches your knees, while the shorter one on top, reaches your hips. But in the center of your chest is a tiny pink diamond, no bigger than your palm. Your hair is left down, but a piece directly above each ear has been pulled back. From what you can see in the back, there’s a few flowers decorating the area where the two pieces are likely tied. 

“This one. I like this one.” you turn to the Pearl and speak to her instead of the mirror.

“ _ Understood. Wonderful choice! _ ” 

The Pearl just nods in agreement, “The pebbles will arrive in a moment to take your measurements.”

“The who-?”

Before you can finish, little doors in the wall open up and tiny gems walk out of them. You gasp. How cute! Each one is wearing it’s own cute little outfit and shaped like tiny pebbles! You could probably hold a few of them in your hand with how small they are.

They each help each other up onto the platform you’re standing on, and the Pearl clears her throat.

“Pink Diamond has requested that his pet has proper attire. She has already decided on her outfit.”

Each one makes a sound of agreement from ‘Yes ma’am!’ to ‘Of course.’ and more. But you’re still to awestruck on how cute they are to really focus on what they’re doing. It’s not until you feel movement on your back that you laugh and look in the mirror to see them taking your legs length.

“You guys make outfits?” 

“Yes ma’am! We make anything our Diamond asks of us.” one chimes from your feet.

You bend down to pick him up, “I hope what I picked isn’t too difficult to make then.”

If they work for Steven, then the poor things are probably always facing challenge after challenge. But the pebble in your hand looks flattered, taking off his small hat and holding it to his chest. 

“Nothing is too difficult for us! We’re pretty strong, you know.”

“Of course.” you laugh a little and set him down so he can get back to work.

After a few minutes, you stand as still as you can to ensure that the pebbles work isn’t wrong. You have nothing to do, not even play with your hands or hair, so you look at the Pearl. She’s watching the pebbles work with the fond expression you’re slowly growing to recognize. 

“Something on your mind?” you ask.

Her expression quickly disappears as she snaps her attention to you, “...It’s nothing. What I think is not important.”

“Sure it is.” your tone is confused yet firm, “Why shouldn't they? You have thoughts of what you care about and what you don't. Those matter. Everyone’s thoughts matter.”

She looks at you, almost shocked, then that slowly turns into a smile; “You remind me so much of her.” she mumbles.

If it wasn’t so quiet in here, you probably wouldn't have heard that. So you don’t pry further as to what she means. But that doesn’t mean your thoughts are settled.

“You know, I keep calling you ‘The Pearl’ in my head. It just doesn’t sound right...so what do I call you?” you ask.

She looks in the mirror behind you, and from what you can tell, she’s staring at her own reflection.

“Are you asking for my name?” she responds.

“Um..yeah.” you maybe should've just stayed quiet after all.

“I don’t believe I have one…” she looks at her hands, which are intertwined, “but she always called me her Pearl.”

“Hmm...then how about Pearl? And that’s it?”

“I...I like that.” she smiles, then moves her hands behind her back.

You both fall into a comfortable silence after that. Nothing left to truly be said. And soon enough, the pebbles start running off one by one, only a few remained and spoke to Pearl quietly. Sure to keep the conversation away from you. After they left though, she comes up behind you, and starts pulling your hair back.

“I will be putting you hair up appropriately. You won’t receive your ensemble until tomorrow where you will show your appreciation to my diamond. Until then, please try to keep your hair tidy.” she mumbles as she ties it off.

“Ok.” is all you can respond with.

Your mind keeps going back to how you might look in front of everyone else at the Zoo. At least you wont walk in with a completely different outfit and stick out like a sore thumb, but you still look different. How are you going to explain the sudden appearance change to everyone there? Oh god, how are you going to explain this to Beta 40?

Once Pearl is done, she escorts you back to the Zoo. She bows as usual, and gestures to the door.

“Thank you.” you nod.

“I’ll see you soon.” is what you likely heard, with her voice being so quiet you had to piece it together.

You smile and make your way towards the waterfall, as you always do. Soon enough, everyone notices you’re back and asks several questions about where you went and what happened to your hair. You just giggle and brush it off, sometimes insisting you never left. But through it all, you see Beta 40 smiling once she makes eye contact with you. You grin back, and mouth ‘I’m sorry’, to which she waves her hand dismissively.

But as you’re dragged off to activity time with everyone else, you don’t see her stay behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://linktr.ee/starryheadache


End file.
